Jack Drankoff, center, has begun his 30th season at the helm of the Green Bay Preble cross country team.

The numbers don't lie when it comes to the former Green Bay Preble coach and athletic director who will be laid to rest today after succumbing to cancer Saturday night at the age of 67.

Drankoff's boys and girls cross-country teams won 28 Fox River Conference championships and went to 32 state meets, and he led the boys team to a WIAA state title in 1984. He had 12 athletes win state titles in track and field, and his work earned him spots in the Wisconsin Cross Country Hall of Fame and Wisconsin Track Coaches Hall of Fame.

There's another set of numbers far more impressive: The more than 12,100 visits to Drankoff's Caring Bridge website since he was diagnosed with cancer and the 687 messages left on his guestbook, many from former students and athletes he helped in more than four decades of coaching and teaching.

Drankoff did what many would love to say at the end of their lives. He was the ultimate mentor, a man who helped shape and mold young men and women who in turn used his teachings to help shape the lives of their loved ones.

Good luck finding anybody who doesn't have something great to say about him. He was a man who appeared to have no enemies, seemingly loved by everybody.

He gave hope to kids that they could accomplish great things after high school, and many did. They became doctors and lawyers and teachers. They became good parents and grandparents. The lessons he taught and the experiences he gave them still are talked about by his former pupils, maybe now more than ever.

"Here was a guy who put a great deal of effort into his coaching and teaching and truly cared," said Dr. David Hey, who ran for Drankoff in the early 1980s and is now a professor at California Polytechnic State University. "He made a huge difference in every student-athlete's life that he touched. You weren't given any special treatment if you were No. 1 or No. 40. Every athlete was equal. That's diametrically opposed to what professional sports are all about.

"No one sits on the bench. You are giving every kid a sporting chance at competition and they feel like they are a difference-maker. That might seem like old school, but you go ask every athlete on the Preble track or cross-country teams and they will agree."

It wasn't always easy for Drankoff. It's just that he made it seem that way. Anyone who knows him has heard the stories about how he didn't know one lick about cross-country when he arrived at Preble and was told he was going to be the coach. He was extremely intelligent, though, and he'd master the techniques and the training principles to eventually give his kids way more than a fighting chance.

His runners were not all standouts. Some of the teams Preble faced had better athletes. But Drankoff was able to instill the confidence in his kids that they all were important and had a chance to be special in their own way.

He did that on the track and during cross-country meets. He also did that as a teacher.

"There are hordes of successful business people and professionals out there that he coached," said former Preble coach Pat Prochnow, who along with coach/teacher Rod Leadley became like brothers to Drankoff as they helped build athletics at the school. "But he would go to extremes to make sure kids stayed in school and stayed on track and didn't get in trouble.

"His leadership was absolutely amazing. He developed a relationship that kids could respect him so much. Even the shadiest bandits, after Jack was done with them, would be on the right track."

The track and cross-country community has lost two beautiful people this year to cancer. De Pere coach Dan Baker died in April, and now Drankoff.

Both were gone far too soon. But like Baker, Drankoff's work and efforts will live on.

"Coach was a very special person," Hey said. "The guy was definitely in the right profession.